


The Fool

by Marta



Category: The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Ficlet, Friendship, Gap Filler, Gen, Minor Canonical Character(s), Philosophy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-14
Updated: 2010-04-14
Packaged: 2017-10-14 20:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/153321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marta/pseuds/Marta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Radagast the Fool, they called him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fool

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rubynye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/gifts).



He burst into song at the slightest provocation, or at nothing at all. Khuzdûl opera, no less; that alone drove the elves to their wits’ end. And he kept his beard long and shabby (if “kept” it could be called), and full of nettles more often than not. Rumor had named him a mighty lord from the West, and so Thranduil’s folk had welcomed him, offered him an honored place at court and given him a house apart when he’d asked for it. But rumor could be mistaken, surely? His house was near broken by time and neglect, the roof had fallen in so the sun shone through. He claimed to like it better that way.

The bear-man knew better, though. Somehow he saw, and Radagast could never quite tell why. The wizard had bellowed, glared, even thrown bird-droppings at him, but Beorn cared little. He would sit on his rock and look at the Fool, that even look bearing neither pity nor censure. So Radagast sat with him, and listened to the songs of the forest: the wind in the trees, the chatter of sparrows flitting around and singing to no one at all.

Beorn spoke not a word, though the question always hung between them: why? Radagast had heard it before, and given up on finding an answer. Why play the fool, why betray your nobility? To drive away true fools, to keep petty lords at bay – he'd tried all those replies, and none seemed to quite fit. In the end, the Fool only knew that he knew nothing. Did that make him wiser than the wise-men who claimed to decipher the stars and the Children's hearts? Perhaps; or perhaps not. ‘Twas beyond him to say.

But shapeshifters had no need for such questions, seemingly, and that revelation brought a smile that shone past Radagast's ragged beard. 'Twas good to have a friend, one true friend, at last.


End file.
